I was hoping to see the final specs and pricing on the Mystery amp first. I was holding out on the Torii MK IV until next year, but with the price increase and upgrades, I may just have to pull the trigger for the Torii before the website is updated. Talk about decisions.

Hey Steve....is there any way you can hold off on the price increase until after Decfest when you debut the Mystery Amp. That way guys like myself who are teetering between the Torii and the Mystery Amp will get a better idea of what we will want to buy.

A recent conflict is preventing me from coming, but I will be tuning in online.

was hoping to see the final specs and pricing on the Mystery amp first. I was holding out on the Torii MK IV until next year, but with the price increase and upgrades, I may just have to pull the trigger for the Torii before the website is updated. Talk about decisions.

Hey Steve....is there any way you can hold off on the price increase until after Decfest when you debut the Mystery Amp. That way guys like myself who are teetering between the Torii and the Mystery Amp will get a better idea of what we will want to buy.

A recent conflict is preventing me from coming, but I will be tuning in online.

Thanks,Dom

What you may not realize is that you can place your Torii Order now and secure the current price and your position in the list. If you decide to change the order to the Mystery amp before your Torii is built, we'll keep your place in line and build the Mystery amp instead. Alternately if you take delivery on the Torii and decide during the 30 day trial you would rather have the Mystery amp, we'll build you one and you can keep the Torii until the Mystery amp is delivered.

What you may not realize is that you can place your Torii Order now and secure the current price and your position in the list. If you decide to change the order to the Mystery amp before your Torii is built, we'll keep your place in line and build the Mystery amp instead. Alternately if you take delivery on the Torii and decide during the 30 day trial you would rather have the Mystery amp, we'll build you one and you can keep the Torii until the Mystery amp is delivered.

Does the "order queue" mentioned above apply to those with III's updating to 4's?

This will be my first valve amp, waited, saved and hopefully picked one that I will love, my workmates wen't the other way! Chinese, one is going back to solid state amp, can't get any volume from his speakers (I know, he needs more sensitive) he is running old Wharfdales, the other said he has lost his bass!!! I really hope this Decware amp will help them see the error in their ways. Already one has had to replace 4 tubes, running way to hot, had to get IT person to adjust so it runs cooler, no way would I be putting my NOS 1960's valves in something like that. They are so jealous of my Decware Mono Preamp. Hopefully this setup will last me lifetime (I'm over 50) so not to long.Love the internet site, lots of info.

Sorry, Decware model ZP3 phonostage amp. Auditioned some speakers today, Focal Chorus 836v, Jamos, and Klipsch F30 (theatre speakers) as they don't stock RF series, using Vincent hybrid amp.Even the salesperson was surprised how much more details the Klipsch speakers were, considering they were the cheaper then the other two. No brainer, if the F30 sounds like that, then the RF7's must be better, made my mind up, never heard horn speaker before, so much more detail it leaves the other two for dead, even more bass, and tight, the Jamos sounded a bit distorted, not clear bass, and the Klipsch only needed number 2 on the volume knob, and then turned up blew the roof off, clear as, no distortion. And this was listening to sterile CD's, imagine vinyl, yum

Of the two I own a pair of HR-1s and have another pair paid for and waiting to be built. If you can afford them, they'll likely be the last pair of speakers you need to buy for a system. I love the ERRs as well, and in some ways, with some material, i love the more "out of the box" or "box less" sound the ERRs can provide. But the HR-1s have both a conventional and an unconventional sound blended together seamlessly and they are so cohesive and dynamic that they seduce you right into the listening space and the music just flows out and around you. An immersive and sensory experience. The more I've listened to them the more I've loved them.

I have attended the Decware Zenfest and heard all their speakers, including the HR-1's. They are very good and if I could only have "one" pair of full-range speakers, that were "reasonable" in size(high WAF) and that pair of speakers had to be from Decware, the HR-1's would probably be it.

However... I must say I was quite smitten by the big, smooth, holographic sound of the DM945's at last years festival also. 945's driven by a Torii, Eva Cassidy played back thru this combination, will bring tears to your eyes! Though I don't necessarily need a monitor sized speaker, I was so impressed by their sound, that I in fact have a pair reserved with my name on them, that I will be picking up at the Decfest in a little over a month.

Don't know if you're into DIY speaker building or not, but I'll share my recent, first experience at it. I just completed my first DIY pair of speakers, that are a single, full-range, high efficiency driver type - I used Audio Nirvana Super Cast Frame 12 inch Alnico's in a 5.6 cu/ft box, ported(think huge cabinets). Nothing special about the cabinet, other than I made it pretty rigid(about 100lbs each) and so that I could easily remove the front and rear baffles for tweaking and experimentation by loosening dozens of socket head cap screws. The front is covered with about a 1/2 of felt, and then covered with faux leather. Driven by my Decware Torii MK.III... I'm not sure I've ever heard "better" sound. There is 100% no doubt that there is some serious synergy magic between the Torii and speakers with no passive xover parts in them. The Torii "hints" at its abilities on every speaker I've connected to it, including my Martin Logan Vista's, but when strapped to a crossoverless type - hang on - you're going for an unbelievable ride. These speakers have "far" exceeded my expectations and they are a pure joy to listen to. What a speaker like the HR-1 or the ERR's will do, that a conventional forward firing box speaker will not - is give you the increased "ambiance" of the omni-directional drivers. And this exact "characteristic" of sound has motivated me to my next DIY speaker project, which is a hybrid Hawthorne Audio Trio, which is an open-baffle speaker.

don't know what you're budget is, or the size of your room, but I don't think you would be disappointed with 945's... even if you eventually decided to obtain something more ambitious in design and cost. You'd probably never part with the 945's. But if you're looking for the "one", "do it all", "last" speaker purchase - you might ought to go for the HR-1's.

I own the JansZen zA2.1s. These are very different from the HR-1s but wonderful. This question was posted in the Torii MK IV thread, and I will be getting this amp as my first Decware amp. At 25 watts/channel it will be able to drive the JansZens to good listening levels, but not drive the speaker to its limits. I know this going in with open eyes. The JansZens are NOT high effeciency speakers. That has to be understood if you are also considering a TorII MK IV.

With that out of the way, I won't trade these speakers just because I can't maximize their output with the amp. I've gradually moved from cone speakers (Thiels) to magnetic planars (Magnepan) to Electrostatics (JansZens), each time taking realism and transparency to a higher plane. IMHO electrostatic transducers are without peers in this regard. Even tinkering at a hobby level almost anyone can get the correct sound from stat panels. Designing a great ESL with good frequency range and bringing it to market is the challenge.

After the Maggies I didn't want another large dipole planar. The JansZens are small (38" tall) and front firing, unlike virtually all other ESLs. They are easy to move and place for good sound. In this respect both these and the HR-1s are good speakers to live with. The JansZens twin woofers are very responsive and lightweight. With a simple first order crossover at 500Hz they are easy to drive and blend extremely well with the two ESL panels that are also stacked vertically in the cabinet.

I think their sound is amazing and I expect to get even more from them with the new Torii. My high power solid state amp actually sounds wimpy in comparison to the Torii, especially in the bass. I did get a chance to hear the combination using a friend's Torii III, which made the buy decision a no-brainer. Due to their 87dB sensitivity rating the Mystery amp or the big Monos will likely drive them better yielding higher output levels, but I'm going to give the MK IV a full chance to win me over. I don't listen at high levels.

The JansZens are a bit more money than the HR-1s, but David Janszen has discounts for buyers in new geographic markets which would level that difference enough to turn it into a choice of two different approaches. I would call David or email him directly if you have questions.

Well I finally made the move to buy the New Torii MK IV after reading Steve's reply. While some of the features on the MK III are going to be eliminated, I am sure that the MK IV will be just as kick ass!! While I will not be able to compare one vs. the other, I really like that the MK IV will have blacker backgrounds. Needless to say I am super excited!!!

One question....do any Torii owners have an optional mono RCA output for a sub? If so, is it worth adding when my Velodyne sub already has a line level input and output (in addition to a mono sub input)?

If adding the mono output on the Torii will alter the signal path and change the sound signature of the unit, then I will not opt for the addition.

drive your Velodyne sub via the "speaker level" inputs, with an extra set of cables off the binding posts of the Torii to the Velodyne. You can read a lot of "theory" on the www about why driving a sub with speaker level inputs is "the best" way sonically - so I won't delve into it here.. just google it and be prepared to get a headache reading about it.

Now, for a practical answer for you - I have driven two Velodyne Optimum 12 subs at the same time(stereo subs), via their speaker level inputs fed from my Torii III with great success with multiple pairs of speakers. Obviously only one pair at a time, but what I'm saying, is I've used the subs driven via their speaker level inputs from my Torii with several different speakers. It works, and it works well - no issue at all.